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Ask HN: What can you realistically manufacture in your garage?

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Ask HN: What can you realistically manufacture in your garage?

#1
Given a two-car garage, what can a small team (2-3 people) manufacture that can be sold for some amount of profit? Imagine access to capital of 20-50k USD at maximum.

Interesting would be items whose manufacture could be automatized to some extent, but this is not necessary.

I am not particularly interested in the legality of this at the moment. But safety considerations could be important.

Re: Ask HN: What can you realistically manufacture in your garage?

#2
Many small scale manufacturing suppliers operate on that scale - or at least could, with sufficient organization. And maybe fudging a bit and using the driveway as a loading dock to store materials and outgoing products.

Lathe, CNC Mill, Drill Press, Bandsaw, Bend Brake, CNC laser/plasma cutter. That'd be the basics of a fully featured metal shop. Buying used and upgrading as you bring in some revenue would keep you under your price target.

Re: Ask HN: What can you realistically manufacture in your garage?

#5
I currently manufacturer a fairly niche product with nothing but a 7 year old $250 3d printer, some off the shelf parts, and a bit of custom electronics. Very high profit margin, as I am the only producer of this item (!).

I'd love to move to a more "robust" process, but options for materials and widespread access to 3d printing provides a lot of versatility for a single-person business where I want to control the entire product and process end-to-end.

Just need to find your niche.

Re: Ask HN: What can you realistically manufacture in your garage?

#7
Small batch soaps, candles, "bath oils" and such can be done with minimal capital and little regulatory oversight.

Print shop type things, especially specialized like vinyl cutting and large banners, could be a good business depending on where you're at. Might be able to buy used or lease equipment too.

Woodworking / furniture shop and / or antique furniture restoration might not be terribly capital intensive.

Re: Ask HN: What can you realistically manufacture in your garage?

#10
post #6

I have a dream of producing custom recumbents. I don't know where to get thin-walled pipes, but a start capital is roughly as you have described.

McMaster-Carr supplies thin-wall chromoly tube [0] suitable for fabricating bicycle frames.

[0] tube is measured by the outer diameter; pipe is measured by the inner diameter

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